Dutch KL Flame Resistant Bear Shirt, Wool, surplus

Most armies have a "bear jacket" of some kind, so do the Dutch. These clothes are often made of a teddy fabric, which can be inverted for a friendly grizzly-like look. Unlike many other thermal clothes, these KL shirts were made to be Flame Resistant. Moreover the Dutch version is made mostly of wool!

Although undeniably warm and comfy, thermal shirts don't look nearly as sharp as a proper woolly pully. Instead their strength is in the high collar and front zipper, which make them more functional in cold weather maneuvres. A shirt like this is just the stuff you want to wear under a shell parka!

Front closure and two pockets with high-quality zippers. Thumb-loops at the cuffs.

Size info

The four first digits of the NATO-size represents user height and the latter four mean chest circumference. For example, 7585 means 175-185 cm (5' 9" - 6' 1") and 0510 is abbreviated from 105-110 cm (41.4" - 43.5"). We wrote these in full length in the size selection to make things easier.

The height range is very large for some reason. In our opinion the 160-180 cm (5' 3" - 5' 11") shirt is more suitable on a 175-180 cm (5' 9" - 5' 11") wearer, so choose a size where you're in the upper third of the suggested range. Obviously, our arms vary in length and people have different tastes about sleeve length.

The widths are somewhat generous so picking your exact size will be a baggy fit. These are smaller at the top so fear not if you have a belly.

Here's a rough conversion of the sizes to easier ones.

Material and care

80 % wool, 20 % polyester, cuffs 100 % polyester knit. All fibres have been modified to be Flame Resistant. Delicate wash at 30 degrees Celsius (86 F) and hang-dry.

Dutch army surplus

The shirts have seen hard use and it shows. They are in one piece and clean, but the level of furryness varies, probably because washing instructions were not followed along the way.

Made by various contractors, such as Arwy, Seyntex, Helly Hansen etc.. These are not sorted.